Makee and eobeet h



(No Model.)

B. SOHMITZ. GLOsURE FOR BOTTLES, cans, &c.

No. 330,428. Patented Nov. 17, 1885.

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PATENT ERNST SOHMITZ, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO GEORGE B. SCHOON- MAKER AND ROBERT H. DALZELL, OF SAME PLACE.

CLOSURE FOR BOTTLES, CANS, 8L0.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 330,428, dated November 17, 1885.

Application filed May 13, 1885. Serial No. 165,384. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERNST SOHMITZ, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Closing Bottles, Cans, or other Receptacles, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that form of bottle, can, or bucket closers in which a cover is held in place by a spring attached to the receptacle; and it consists in so fashioning the retaining-spring and its means of attachment to the receptacle and of engagement with the cover as to facilitate the removal of the cover and the automatic displacement of the various parts from positions in which they could interfere with the ready use of the contents of the receptacle upon the release of one end of the retaining-spring, as hereinafter more fully described, and set forth in the claims.

I have illustrated my invention by the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of a bottle having connected therewith my improved closing device. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a detail view of the cap or cover. Fig. 4 is a detail view of said cap or cover in section, showing a rubber band used between said cover and the top of the bottle or can. Fig. 5 is a detail View of the spring mechanism employed by me to compress or hold said cap firmly in position. Fig. 6 is likewise a detail view of bent-wire locking device by means of which the spring which compresses said cap is both held in position and released, which locking device I have termed in this specification a trigger. Fig. 7 is a detail view showing a modification consisting of a piece of metal so bent as to cause the desired compression upon the cap, which construction can be used, if desired,in the place of the spring shown in Fig. 5.

Like letters refer to like parts in the several views.

A indicates a bottle.

'13 indicates a cap or cover used in connection therewith.

d is a raised section of said cap or cover.

it indicates a wire which surrounds the neck of the bottle, the ends of which are locked or joined together, so that said wire shall be firmly attached to the bottle in the position shown.

k 70 indicate two ribs or elevations in the glass around the neck of the bottle, beneath the lower one of which the wire h is placed, which lower rib acts to prevent said wire from slipping or passing upward. These ribs are a secondary matter, as any kind of projections may be formed on the neck of the bottle for the desired purpose of holding the wire.

m indicates the spring device used to compress or hold the cap in position, said device consisting of a piece of wire, one end of which is shaped or bent so as to hook within the eye b of the surrounding wire h, while the central portion extending over the top of the cap is bent or coiled so as to form a spring, the wire of which said spring is formed being contin- 7o ued so as to project beyond the circumference of said cap far enough to admit of being received and held by a device constructed for that purpose.

it indicates a bent piece of wire or trigger, 7 which is so shaped as to hook into an eye or loop, a, on the opposite side of the wire hthat is, opposite from the loop bsaid trigger being further bent so as to hook over or lock the free projecting end or arm connected with spring in.

00 indicates a piece of bent metal, which I have shown as a modification, which. may be used, if desired, in place of the spring m, said metal being shaped at one end so as to hook around the wire it surrounding the neck of the bottle, the other end of said piece of metal projecting beyond the cap, so as to be held by the trigger, before referred to.

The purpose or object of the raised section d, of the cap is to aflord a hearing within the compressingspring m, and prevent the same from slipping or sliding over the surface of the cap when pressure is brought to bear against the trigger. This elevated portion of the cap may be varied, if desired, as a depression in the cap may be employed, or sharp corruga tions on the under side of the spring; or this feature of construction may be entirely dispensed with; but it will be found advantage- 100 the same.

ous to have some means for preventing any lateral movement of the spring device while the trigger is being operated.

'0 indicates a piece of rubber, placed between the cap (or beneath the same) and the top of the bottle or can. It is only necessary to use in this connection a yielding or pliable substance; and paper, cloth, or other plastic material can be prepared so as to be used in the place of rubber, if preferred,

The operation of my improved closing device is as follows: When it is desired to firmly secure the cap in position, it is placed over the orifice of the bottle or can, a piece of rubber being placed beneath or between the same and said orifice. The bent end of the spring on is then hooked into the eye I), and the spring brought over the top of the cap and compressed thereon until the opposite projecting end or arm of said spring is in position to be received by the trigger, which securely holds When it is desired to open said bottle or can, pressure by the thumb or finger brought against the free end of the trigger will readily release the spring device held thereby, thus releasing the cap. The more particular and specific operation is that when the trigger is moved so as to release the arm of the spring there is such an upward and outward movement of the parts as to cause the spring at to become automatically disconnected from the eye I), also to cause the trigger to be automatically released from the eye 0, as well as to cause the cap to be thrown from the top of the bottle or can, thus leaving the opening into the same entirely free and unobstructed. This construction will be found of special advantage when it is desired to use a bottle having my closing devices thereon for containing fire-extinguishing chemicals, as it is highly desirable that there should be nothing to interfere with the throwing or expelling said chemicals in any desired direction. It willbe likewise found to be a desirable construction for closing the openings in buckets containing fire-extinguishing chemicals into which it is desired to expeditiously insert a pump, as the arrangement and combination which I have shown admit of opening the bucket almost instantaneously, and so release and automatically disconnect the parts used in closing the same that nothing remains to interfere with the introduction of the pump. My improved construction is, however, applicable to a much wider use than above indicated, as it may be readily applied to the closing of fruit-jars or other receptacles, the compression upon the top of the cap causing the same to conform to the surface surrounding the orifice into the can or jar and to close the same most efiectively. When thus employed, my improved construction can be most expeditiously used in place of the screw-cap closing device now so generally applied to glass cans. My construction is both more reliable and economical than the method of screwing a cap onto the top of a-can or jar. The compression of the closing of jars, cans, bottles, or other receptacles where it is desired to have the parts used in holding the cap in position for use again, and when it is not advantageous to have all of said parts automatically released so as to be out of the way, both the spring and the trigger may be so connected with the supporting-wire surrounding the neck of a jar, can, or bottle that the same shall remain connected therewith after the cap or cover has been released and removed. This cap or cover may be of metal or any other suitable material, and while ordinary wire is found convenient and economical for placing around the neck of the bottle or can, as well as for forming the spring device and the trigger device, there may be a modification as to the material used for these parts. desired use may be employed.

I do not wish to confine myself to the particular shape or form of spring or of trigger shown in my drawings, or to the particular form of the piece of metal shown as a modification, as there maybe changes in such shape or form without departing from the scope of my invention.

While my improved closing appliances will be found to be of special advantage for use in connection with bottles and buckets containing fire-extinguishing fluids, particularly because of the automatic disconnection of the several parts indicated, the same may be used to advantage for the closing of any vessel or receptable where it is desirable to have the cap or cover disconnected from or independent of the appliances by which the same is com-' pressed or held in position.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1S

1. The combination, with a cap for a jar, bucket, or other receptacle having a raised central portion of the shape of a short cylinder or truncated cone, of a wire spring pivotally attached to the neck of the receptacle and provided with a loop, formed by turning the wire spring once upon itself, of the same shape as and slightly larger than the said raised portion of the cap, and adapted to receive the same, and having arms extending outwardly from the loop as means for securement of the spring to the vessel, whereby lateral displacement of the spring during its adjustment is prevented and the detachment of the spring and cover is facilitated, substantially as described and shown.

2. The combination, with a wire, h, passed about the head of a can or jar and held in place by projections thereon, and in which wire are Anything which will answer for the formed twoopposite loops, 1) and c, of a spring, m, for holding the cap of the jar in place, provided with a half-loop at one end for engaging with one of the said loops in wire h, and a catch or trigger, a, engaging by means of a half-loop with the other of said loops in wire h, and having at its other end a hook for engagement with the other end of spring m, substantially as described.

3. A wire spring for holding down the cap of a jar, having a half-loop at one'end, in combination with a wire loop attached to the neck of the jar for receiving said half-loop, and a trigger or swinging catch attached to the other side of the neck of the jar for holding the other end of the spring substantially as shown and described.

4. In combination with a spring for holding down the cap of a jar, a wire loop attached to the neck of the jar, a wire trigger or catch having a half-loop in one end for engagement with the loop attached to the jar, and a hook at the other for engagement with the spring, substantially as shown and described.

5. The combination of a wire spring for jar or bucket caps, having a half-loop at one end, a wire loop attached to one side of the neck of said jar for receiving said half-loop, a catch for holding the other end of said spring, provided at one end with a half-loop, and a-second loop attached to the opposite side of the neck of the jar from the first for receiving the halfloop of the catch, substantially as shown and described.

6. The combination of a bottle or bucket cover provided with a central raised portion of the shape of a short cylinder or truncated cone, a spring for retaining the cover in position, pivotally connected at one end to wire h, passing about the neck of the bottle or bucket, and provided with an opening at its middle of the same shape as but a little larger than the said raised portion of the cap, and adapted to receive the same, and a catch provided at one end with a half'loop for engaging with loop a in said wire h, and at the other end with a hook for catching over the free end of said spring and holding the same in place, substantially as described and shown.

ERNST SCHMITZ.

lVitnesses:

FREDERICK G. GooDwIN, 'E. L. HUBER. 

